Royal Treatment
by Artdirector123
Summary: For the guard dog au where dolcetto lives and becomes a royal guard to Ling. LIng notices that Dolcetto has been extremely tired lately, so he decides to figure out a way to relieve the man's stress. His own personal spa might work.


**Another addition to my guard dog au series. Enjoy!**

Ling sighed and relaxed into the warm water. Steam continued to rise from the surface of the large pool, even though he had been soaking for quite a while. He knew he had to get out soon, but he couldn't bring himself too. It just felt so relaxing. After a long, grueling day of listening to proposals, meeting with government figures, coming up with compromises, and approving new bills, this was exactly what he needed. The royal spa was one of his personal favorite parts of the palace, although he tried not to abuse it too much. He couldn't spend all day there nor spend every night there if he wanted to keep his country running properly, but a weekly visit to unwind was also important if he was going to make fair and just judgements. A calm mind and a well maintained body were necessary for such a demanding job as he had quickly learned in his first year of ruling.

Giving himself a few more minutes to unwind, finally, he stretched and got out of the water, calling for a servant to get his robes. He then headed back to his room for a good night's rest. While on his way back, he spotted Dolcetto heading down the hall. Ling smiled. "Hey there!"he called to him in Amestrian, "How's your evening going?"

Dolcetto looked up and grinned in acknowledgement. "Oh you know, just heading on to the night shift for the guard. Someone has to keep those chuckleheads awake and alert," he joked.

Ling chuckled. "Well I couldn't think of anyone else better suited for the job," he said, have a good night!"he called. Dolcetto nodded and the two parted ways. Ling stopped however as he heard a yawn come from the other man. He turned back and frowned as he noticed how tired the dog chimera looked. His shoulders were slumped slightly and he was dragging his feet a little. His hair also looked a little messy too. He didn't say anything about it but the image stayed in his mind as he continued on his way back to his room. It got ling thinking, when was the last time he really had a break? He got at least one day off during the week and he knew the dog chimera spent plenty of time outside of work enjoying himself, but it was still a stressful job, particularly with working at night. He had to be constantly alert, constantly on guard. That couldn't be an easy burden. On top of that, in the end, it was all for his sake.

He really owed him for all his dedication and loyalty. Ling sat awaking in his room, wondering what he could do to show his appreciation. All of a sudden, an idea came to mind. A bright smile crossed his face as he pulled the sheets over him and went to bed, deciding to set his plan into motion in the morning.

….

"A spa day?" Dolcetto questioned, "You're having me take another day off this week for a spa day...not that I don't mind the day off but...for a spa day?"

Ling nodded happily. "Not just any spa, the royal spa! The best Xing has to offer," he explained, "You'll love it. I can think of no better way to unwind."

Dolcetto frowned. The only thing that came to mind when he thought of the word "spa" were places where women went to get their nails painted, took mud baths, and had those disgusting looking green pastes smeared all over their faces. "I'm not so sure," he responded scratching the back of his head, "I don't know if I'd really enjoy manicures or-"

"Manicures?" Ling questioned, "No, no, no, no. That's not what I mean. The royal spa is a health facility, not a beauty salon. There are herbal baths, professional massages of all kinds, a sauna, and other such physical healing techniques…as well as hair cuts."

Dolcetto contemplated this. "Well, admittedly my back has been a bit achey lately," he said tapping his chin, "Besides, I honestly would rather skip out on any new recruit training...Alright. I'll give it a try."

…

The following Friday ling brought Dolcetto to a part of the palace he hadn't been too before. It had a very different feel from the rest of the castle. There were no bright golds or reds, mostly lighter cooler colors like green and blue adorned the walls. Also, as soon as he set foot there, his nose was assaulted with the scents of hundreds of unfamiliar herbs. He couldn't even pick out even one from the mix there were so many. Two servants were waiting at the door for them and bowed to Ling as he walked up to them.

"Good day, Sire," the woman said bowing, "This is the man you told us about?"

"Yes, Changying, this is Dolcetto, a high ranking member of the royal guard," he introduced, "Dolcetto, this is Changying and Bojing. They are the heads of this facility and will be taking care of you today. They are the best in all of Xing."

The man smiled. "We pride ourselves on our wide array of expertise on therapeutic techniques, from massages, to herbal baths, to acupuncture-"

"Acupuncture?" Dolcetto questioned.

"Ah yes, sorry," Bojing backed up, "It's a procedure where we pin point areas in the body of tension and use needles to-"

"Wait, needles?!" Dolcetto repeated, his voice full of anxiety at the thought. Ling looked at him in surprise at his outburst and his eyes quickly widened as he saw the fearful and slightly distant look in his eyes. Uh oh.

"Dolcetto, it's alright!" Ling assured in amestrian, putting both hands on his shoulders and pulling him to face him a little, "You won't have to go near any needles, it's only an option, and not one you have to even consider. It's alright, just calm down." Dolcetto took a deep breath and did just that. Ling then turned to the two concerned looking servants.

"Is something wrong your majesty?"Changying asked.

"No, everything's fine, just please keep any and all needles away from him," he said, "He has a terrible fear of them. We'll just stick to massages, herbal baths, and the sauna for now". The two servants nodded and Ling patted Dolcetto on the back and pushed him towards them. "Alright then, I'll leave him to you," he said.

"Wait what?" Dolcetto said, "You aren't going to show me how this works at all?"

"You'll be fine, they'll take care of everything for you," Ling assured waving good bye. Dolcetto stood there silently for a moment, feeling slightly betrayed until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to the two servants.

"Come with us please," Bojing said with a smile, "We already have a bath prepared for you." Dolcetto raised an eyebrow. Did he really need one? It was just the beginning of the day!

…

Dolcetto gripped his towel staring at the large pool before him, Boling standing behind him expectantly. It was beautiful, with plenty of plants around it making it look like an oasis and he could smell lavender and other herbs coming off of the water.

However, he could also see the steam still rising from the water. He had hot baths before, but never could he physically see the steam rising off of it. It made him definitely a bit more concerned about what this bath was supposed to do for him. It looked more like it was going to melt his skin off than help him relax.

"Is there something wrong, Sir," he said, "I understand if you need me to leave to disrobe, but you haven't even tested the water yet."

"Well…" he said, "I just haven't seen a bath like this before…"

The man gave a look of surprise. "Really?" he gasped in disbelief, "You don't have hot baths in Amestris? Tell me you are joking…"

"No that's not it, I've just never been to a spa of any kind before," he said, "So usually my hot baths don't look like they're about to start boiling…"

Bojing chuckled. "Oh don't worry, It's not nearly as bad as it looks," he said nudging him forward, "The heat helps relax the muscles. It's very soothing, you might even find yourself dozing off."

"You sure?" Dolcetto questioned. Bojing nodded and nudged him further. Dolcetto did as he was told and dipped his toes into the water...only to immediately hiss and draw back. "SHIT THAT BURNS!" He cried, before turning to Bojing angrily, "That was not relaxing that was painful!"

Bojing gave him an annoyed look. "You barely touched it! Trust me, the water isn't that hot. Cold water would have stung you just as much on the the first test," he argued.

Dolcetto sighed and relented. He carefully lowered his foot into the water again, biting his lip as he did so. It did sting a little again upon first touch...but once his foot was actually submerged it felt absolutely wonderful. He slowly sunk into the bath, until the water was up to his shoulders and sighed a long, peaceful sigh. It was like heaven. Even better than being wrapped up in a large fluffy comforter on a cold night. He stretched his toes and lowered his head back until it was resting on the ground. His eyes were shut as he took in a deep breath and smiled. He felt like he could stay like this forever.

He had almost fallen asleep, but his eyes shot open in surprise and he nearly jumped as someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Bojing there with a another servant carrying a few bowls. "Sorry to disturb you," he said, setting a tray with tea on it. "Here, you may have these while you relax." Another servant came up with a plate with hot towels on it and other with some fruit.

"Wow, thanks. None of those are grapes or plums right?" Dolcetto asked, eyeing the fruit.

"No sir, The Emperor told us in advance of your dietary issues," the man said before standing up. "We'll come back in an hour to see how you're doing. If you need to call us before then, just shout." Dolcetto nodded as the men departed. Once they had, Dolcetto relaxed back into the water smiling. He was going to need a lot longer than an hour here.

…

At the end of the day Dolcetto had a spring in his step as he walked down the halls beaming. Today had probably been the best day he'd had in a long time. He never thought he'd enjoy getting pampered so much. On top of the herbal bath, he also had a back massage, a foot massage/callus removal, a much needed haircut, and a good hours spent in a sauna. After he was done, he fell like a new person. All his aches and pains were gone, and he was completely re-energized.

Ling seemed to notice this as he spotted him down the hall. "Well, It looks like someone enjoyed their day being a lazy dog," he joked.

Much to Ling's surprise, Dolcetto actually laughed for once at his pun. "You bet I did. That place is amazing! I have felt this good in a while," he admitted, "Thanks again for letting me do this. Do you think you could let me use that spa a little more often?"

"Oh, sure…" he responded, "Have a good evening." Ling was still taken aback by the fact that Dolcetto had actually laughed at his joke. He had expected at least an eye roll from him, but insted he genuinely laughed...Maybe this day of relaxation worked a little too well…

The next day after he had gotten his own massage he decided to thank Changying and Bojing. "Thanks again for helping him. It worked wonders on him," he said to the servants, "I've never seen him so perky!"

"Thank you sir. We were more than happy to help," Changying said before biting her lip, "However...we noticed something...strange about your friend."

Ling raised an eyebrow. "Strange? What do you mean?"he asked.

"Well, When he was getting his back massage, when one of us was massaging his left side, his foot started…" she continued, "...Twitching…I don't think he was awear of it though, he was half asleep at the time."

It took all of Ling's self control not to burst out laughing. "Twitching you say?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Yes…" Bojing said, "We've never seen anything like it. Is that normal?"

"Yes, Don't worry, he's fine," Ling confirmed, trying very hard not to laugh, "It's a...genetic issue…Please do not tell anyone of this, alright?" They agreed and with that he bid them goodnight and raced back to his quarters, trying to control his laughter all the way. Once he had, he collapsed on the floor in a fit of hysterics. Looks Like he really had enjoyed it! This was too rich. He couldn't let Dolcetto know he knew this however. The poor man would die of embarrassment, or kill him if he ever told anyone else. So he decided to keep it his little secret. He'd take it to his grave, laughing all the way.


End file.
